Phl, UST host int’l conference on Ethics in S&T

As man evolves, so does his ethical standards and value system.

“Change and evolution of ethics and its principles make or unmake the internal value system of man. Man’s ethics swings between what is deemed the past, and what is consensually considered contemporary. Ethical norms do not only differ, they evolve.” (www.globalethics-ust.com.ph)

This is what lectures of experts from across Europe, and Asia and the Pacific will center on as Asia’s oldest higher bastion of learning—the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas—hosts “Global Conference on Ethics in Science and Technology” on October 20 to 22 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex (TARC).

The goals of the conference are:

• To provide a platform for the discussion of ethical issues and concerns in the development and application of the new fields of science and technology, such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, and information technology.
• To stimulate research on the ethical, political, social and cultural implications of the new developments in science and technology.
• To increase awareness on the importance of ethical considerations in the conduct of research and development work in science and technology, as they affect society and shared security.

Plenary speakers include world-renowned Prof. Yuan Tseh Lee, the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and recently elected President of the International Council of Scientific Unions, and H.E. Most Rev. Msgr. Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Science and the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences.

Points of discussion include Bioethics and Genomics, Info-ethics, Ethics of Communication and Social Media, Climate Ethics, Nanoethics, Publication Ethics and Research Integrity and Ethics Education in Science and Engineering.

Among the prominent list of invited speakers include Daryl R. J. Macer (Eubios Ethics Institute), Johan Hattingh (Stellenbosch University), Clive Hamilton (Charles Sturt University), Joachim Schummer (University of Karlsruhe), John Weckert (Charles Sturt University), Elizabeth Wager (COPE, United Kingdom), Cameron Richards (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia), Syun Tutiya (National Institution of for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation, Japan), Tom Borsen (Aalborg University), Guido Van Steendam (Catholic University of Leuven), Msgr. Paul Tighe (Pontifical Council for Social Communication), William Torres (National Academy of Science and Technology) and Marita VT. Reyes (Philippine Health Research Ethics Board) and Damian Mapa of Microsoft, Philippines.

This Global Conference is supported by the ASEAN Foundation, UNESCO National; Commission of the Philippines and PCIEERD-DOST.

The conference is jointly organized by the UST Graduate School and the UST Ecclesiastical Faculty of Philosophy and is part of the Quadricentennial celebration of the University of Santo Tomas.